Fugitive captured in Bethlehem convicted of manslaughter for crash that killed NYC couple

MATT ROURKE, AP

Julio Acevedo is escorted from a hearing at the Lehigh County Courthouse in Allentown, Pa., in this March 7, 2013 file photo.

Julio Acevedo is escorted from a hearing at the Lehigh County Courthouse in Allentown, Pa., in this March 7, 2013 file photo. (MATT ROURKE, AP)

NEW YORK— A speeding driver who crashed into a hired car taking expectant parents to a New York City hospital has been convicted in the deaths of the couple and their baby, who was delivered alive after the wreck but didn't survive.

Julio Acevedo was found guilty Thursday night of two counts of second-degree manslaughter and one count of criminally negligent homicide. The latter charge was related to the baby's death.

Acevedo could face up to life in prison when he is sentenced March 18.

Prosecutors estimated Acevedo was going 70 mph — more than twice the speed limit — when he smashed into a livery car in March 2013.

Nachman and Raizy Glauber, both 21, died that day. Their son, Tanchem, delivered by Cesarean section, died a day later.

The deaths left the couple's ultra-Orthodox Jewish community in Brooklyn grief-stricken and touched off an intense manhunt for the 44-year-old suspect, who served time in the 1990s for a shooting conviction.

Good Samaritans who stopped to help the victims told investigators that Acevedo assured them he wasn't hurt; prosecutors said he slipped away on foot, fully aware of the carnage. He surrendered in Bethlehem after five days on the run.

Acevedo's family described him as a dedicated family man who quit his job to become a stay-at-home father.

"A beautiful innocent family lost their lives because Julio Acevedo chose to drive in a reckless manner," District Attorney Kenneth Thompson said in a statement.

"Almost two years later we were able to get justice," Thompson said. "We are grateful to the jury for following the evidence and holding Julio Acevedo accountable."

It was unclear why Acevedo was in Bethlehem, where he surrendered to New York City police at a Turkey Hill convenience store just off Interstate 78 in the Northampton County section of the city.

Both city and state police said at the time they had no indications that Acevedo had been hiding out here and were unsure why he chose to give himself up in the city.